Chapter 984: Divine Thunder Annihilation

Blood-colored ribbons, coalesced by Du Mengyun's demonic energy, formed a blood-red longsword, pointed directly at Mo Douguang.

However, facing this sword, Mo Douguang did not retreat.

Seeing this, Du Mengyun's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly. She thought Mo Douguang intended to protect the thousands of Five Elements Sect disciples behind him, and mused that this Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator of the Five Elements Sect indeed possessed some of the demeanor of a righteous cultivator.

The blood-red longsword, guided by her divine sense, transformed into a crimson streak of light, piercing towards Mo Douguang's glabella.

The disciples of the Five Elements Sect and members of the Dongwu Alliance below instantly changed color. If Mo Douguang died, who among them could possibly stop this demonic Nascent Soul cultivator?

Boom!

Just then, a violent roar of thunder resounded, and a longsword wreathed in purple lightning descended from the sky, intercepting the crimson streak of light.

The moment Du Mengyun saw the Purple Lightning Sword, her expression subtly changed.

Through her avatar, Sun Huangling, she had personally witnessed this sword draw upon the power of a heavenly tribulation to slay the Poison Dragon Ancestor.

She privately wondered if even she could defeat the Poison Dragon.

However, at that time, Chen Mobai had the assistance of heavenly tribulation power, maximizing the sword's might.

Therefore, Du Mengyun felt she could exchange a few blows with this One Yuan Daozi.

But she quickly realized another problem.

Where was the Little Demon Venerable?

The two had gone to the high heavens to fight, yet now Chen Mobai was able to activate the Purple Lightning Sword to intervene. Did this not mean that the Little Demon Venerable had failed to stop him?

Could the Little Demon Venerable have been defeated?!

Upon realizing this, Du Mengyun shivered all over.

She was confident in dealing with the Poison Dragon, but she knew that with her own strength, she would stand no chance against the Little Demon Venerable.

And how terrifying must Chen Mobai's strength be, to have defeated the Little Demon Venerable!

Just as she fully grasped the situation, a colossal shadow suddenly appeared, engulfing her from above.

Du Mengyun looked up, and her pupils instantly constricted.

She saw Chen Mobai in the sky, holding the corpse of a being with a human body and dragon tail, his gaze icily fixed on her.

The Little Demon Venerable was actually dead!

Witnessing this, Du Mengyun's face was filled with horror. Among all the demons present, she understood the Little Demon Venerable's power best; even her master, Diao Xianlan, was inferior.

In her view, the Little Demon Venerable was destined to transcend into a God Transformation realm.

Yet, this incredibly powerful Little Demon Venerable was now a lifeless corpse, his once formidable physique carved with wound after wound, a tragic sight of death.

“Before you die, leave your name,” Chen Mobai said calmly to Du Mengyun. “I do not slay the nameless.”

Chen Mobai's tone was placid. Although he had sustained some injuries from killing the Little Demon Venerable, the one opposite him was a demonic cultivator. Even while holding a corpse with one hand and not being at full strength, he could still easily suppress and kill her!

“You killed the Little Demon Venerable; the demons of Ten Thousand Immortal Island and the Demon Venerables will not let you off,” Du Mengyun said.

As Du Mengyun spoke, she activated a secret art to sense Chen Mobai's vitality and blood, discovering some good news.

Just as she had anticipated, this One Yuan Daozi's aura was three to four tenths weaker compared to when he ascended to the heavens.

The Little Demon Venerable was so powerful; killing him could not have come without a price.

After perceiving this, Du Mengyun began to hesitate internally.

She wondered whether to seize this opportunity to strike, perhaps avenging the Little Demon Venerable.

Ultimately, however, she cautiously decided to retreat first.

After all, with the Little Demon Venerable dead, her current standing on Ten Thousand Immortal Island would be gone.

Originally, her plan was to use the power of Ten Thousand Immortal Island to escape the control of the Jade Mirror Demonic Sect. In this joint invasion of Dongzhou by the demon-beasts of the Barren Sea, she had also received a promise from Diao Xianlan: completing the mission would grant her the Jade Mirror Demonic Sect's God Transformation secret art.

A bright future lay before her; there was no need to risk it here for the deceased Little Demon Venerable.

It was better to first transmit this information to the other Nascent Soul demon kings of Ten Thousand Immortal Island. With this One Yuan Daozi stationed in Dongwu, their current demon forces were insufficient. They needed to draw in more powerful entities from the Barren Sea.

Having made up her mind, Du Mengyun turned to flee.

But silver light flickered, and Chen Mobai, having already used Void Walk, instantly appeared before her. The Purple Lightning Sword transformed into a bolt of electricity, flew into his palm, and with just one sword strike, it cleaved Du Mengyun, her Blood Mirror defense, and the Barren Sea beneath her in two.

“Junior Brother, be careful! She can transform into a blood shadow to evade damage!” Mo Douguang immediately called out to Chen Mobai upon seeing this.

“Blood shadow?”

As Chen Mobai wondered, he watched Du Mengyun, who he had just cleaved in half, transform into two streaks of blood light. They fled a great distance, then reassembled in mid-air, forming a completely intact Du Mengyun.

However, upon reconstituting, Du Mengyun fled without a backward glance, soaring towards the depths of the Barren Sea.

That single sword strike just now had utterly shattered her confidence.

The Blood Mirror was her most potent defensive method, nearly at the fifth tier.

Yet, against the Purple Lightning, it couldn't even block for a single breath.

No wonder the Little Demon Venerable died by his hand. The formidable physiques of the demon race were most vulnerable to peak sword cultivators.

This One Yuan Daozi's strength was several times greater than when he fought the Poison Dragon.

Fearing she couldn't escape, Du Mengyun even spat out a mouthful of vital blood, unleashing the Jade Mirror Demonic Sect's secret escape technique, the 'Moonlight Celestial Escape'.

In the daytime sky, a bright moon suddenly appeared. Under the augmentation of its moonlight, Du Mengyun's speed tripled, becoming like a streak of bloody moonlight that instantly swept across the Barren Sea's surface, reaching the horizon where sea and sky merged.

Facing her opponent's escape, Chen Mobai stood unmoving, yet his entire being glowed with a silver radiance. He deployed a Void Illusion, projecting it to the far reaches of the sea.

Du Mengyun watched as silver light flickered before her. Chen Mobai's figure, initially blurry, became clear, and the void around him began to subtly warp.

“This is—”

Du Mengyun didn't know what Chen Mobai was doing, but she sensed that the figure before her had almost no spiritual energy or true qi fluctuations.

However, the One Yuan Daozi would certainly not act in vain, so she cautiously altered the direction of her Moonlight Celestial Escape, darting sideways. Yet, at that moment, Chen Mobai's Void Illusion clenched its five fingers towards her in a phantom grip.

In an instant, Du Mengyun's incredibly fast escape speed suddenly paused, as if time had been frozen, leaving her suspended in place.

Void Qi Lock!

Although Du Mengyun's body was locked, her mind did not stop. She quickly recalled one of the myriad secret arts recorded in the Jade Mirror Demonic Sect's Heavenly River Realm, the one that best fit her current predicament.

Isn't he the One Yuan Daozi? How does he know the secret arts of the Grand Void Ethereal Palace?

Amidst Du Mengyun's shock, a crystalline miniature figure suddenly teleported before her. With a smiling rub of its hands, a wisp of sword energy slashed down towards her!

At this critical juncture of life and death, Du Mengyun also displayed her strength as the Saintess of the Jade Mirror Demonic Sect. Her originally graceful chest suddenly swelled, and a bloody sword light burst forth from her heart, forcefully breaking through the Void Lock's restriction.

However, even if she hadn't used that move, Chen Mobai's Void Lock would have expired.

He merely intended to lock her for an instant.

The Primordial Yang Sword Fiend, unleashed by the second Nascent Soul, had already slashed into Du Mengyun's neck. The crystalline sword thread cut through without obstruction, separating her head from her body.

But Du Mengyun resorted to her old trick again, transforming into a blood shadow. After fleeing a certain distance, the two blood shadows merged, intending to recover. However, a torrent of fresh blood splattered across the sea surface, trailing the path Du Mengyun took as she transformed into a blood shadow and fled from the second Nascent Soul.

She flew, bleeding all the way.

The blood shadows merged, but a horizontal wisp of dark red sword thread acted as an uncrossable barrier, preventing her head and body from reattaching. Blood spurted frantically from the sword wound on her neck.

“What—what is happening?” Du Mengyun asked with difficulty.

“You are already dead by my sword. That's what's happening.”

Chen Mobai's voice resounded behind her, and the second Nascent Soul landed smilingly on his shoulder.

Although Du Mengyun's blood shadow escape art was incredibly miraculous, to the point that even Mo Douguang's sword couldn't sever it, Chen Mobai cultivated the Pure Yang Scroll, which granted special attack bonuses against demonic and ghostly cultivators.

As expected, after the Primordial Yang Sword Fiend struck, Du Mengyun's wound simply could not heal.

Her face changed drastically. She wanted to unleash a secret art to self-destruct her body and escape, but the second Nascent Soul waved its hands, and a brilliant golden Demon-Slaying Divine Lightning surged forth.

At this critical moment of life and death, Du Mengyun's entire body swelled, her fair skin turned crimson, and her vital energy erupted, reaching nearly the peak of the Nascent Soul realm.

However, no matter how powerful her vital energy was, under the golden Demon-Slaying Divine Lightning, it was like snow and ice exposed to sunlight. Layers of bloody light and demonic shadows surging from her body were transmuted into blood mist by the golden lightning, dissipating into the sky.

Blood-colored ribbons, blood-red mirrors, and other artifacts flew out from her, attempting to block the Demon-Slaying Divine Lightning.

However, Chen Mobai casually waved his hand, unleashing the Treasure-Suppressing Golden Light, instantly suppressing all these mere fourth-tier artifacts.

After the roaring subsided, Du Mengyun herself had been reduced to dust by the Demon-Slaying Divine Lightning.

After killing yet another Nascent Soul cultivator, Chen Mobai felt somewhat listless.

Compared to his battle with the Little Demon Venerable, Du Mengyun couldn't even withstand three blows.

Too weak.

After tidying up the battlefield, Chen Mobai deployed his escape light and flew towards the coastline. Along the way, any demon-beasts brave enough to show themselves on the sea surface were casually turned to ash by his Extreme Yang Slash.

As for the others, their numbers were simply too vast. They had scattered in disarray the moment they saw the Little Demon Venerable's corpse, and within the short time it took Chen Mobai to slay Du Mengyun, they had already fled to the deep seabed.

Chen Mobai had minor injuries and did not pursue them.

Upon landing on the coast, cultivators from the Five Elements Sect and the Dongwu Alliance all flew towards him.

“Thank you, Junior Brother!”

“Greetings, Master.”

“Greetings, Sect Leader.”

“This time, we owe it to Sect Leader Chen's divine arrival and timely assistance; otherwise, we would surely have been slain by these demons—”

As soon as Chen Mobai landed, he saw everyone surrounding him with utmost respect.

“The main leaders of the Barren Sea demons have all died by my hand. Please trouble yourselves with cleaning up the battlefield, but also guard against any counterattacks from the enemy—”

After Chen Mobai politely spoke a few words, the Dongwu Alliance members, seeing the situation clearly, bid their farewells and enthusiastically led the still-operational treasure ships to collect demon beast corpses from the sea surface.

“Ming’er, are you injured?”

Once only his own people remained, Chen Mobai saw the pale-faced Zhuo Ming and immediately asked with concern.

“Master, it's nothing serious, just a loss of some vital blood—”

Zhuo Ming immediately replied. Chen Mobai took her pulse, and after confirming her condition, he felt slightly relieved.

However, a loss of vital blood, if not properly recuperated, could harm her fundamental essence.

“Ming’er, take the Little Demon Venerable's corpse back to Yellow Dragon Immortal Cave. Have Qing Nv refine some pills for you to properly nourish your body. Come to the front lines again after you've recovered.”

Chen Mobai immediately issued new instructions. As a fifth-tier demon like the Little Demon Venerable, after extracting its vital blood, he wondered if it could be used to refine the Sacred True Spirit Pill.

“Master, if I leave, will there be no Earth-attribute Core Formation cultivators left on the front lines?”

But Zhuo Ming looked hesitant, expressing her concern: “Currently, the treasure ships of the Dongwu Alliance are almost all damaged, and the power of the formations you set up has significantly weakened under this impact. Next, we will have to retreat to the two major defensive formations you previously arranged in Dongwu. I will have the Grand Star Child come here to replace you.”

Chen Mobai explained his arrangements.

Although he greatly wished to repel all the Barren Sea demons above the sea surface, Dongwu was simply too vast, making it very easy for demons to infiltrate.

Given that the other two battlefields had not yet yielded a decisive victory, it was more advantageous for Dongwu to consolidate its defenses.

Furthermore, over these years, the Dongwu Alliance's strength had been almost exhausted, and Jiang Zongheng had gained time to relocate mortals, laying the groundwork for the Five Elements Sect's rule over Dongwu after the war.

“Yes, Master!”

Upon hearing Chen Mobai's arrangements, Zhuo Ming immediately felt relieved. She took the Little Demon Venerable's corpse and departed via the medium-sized teleportation array located there.

“Junior Brother, when shall we retreat?” Mo Douguang asked. He had known this for a long time: the Five Elements Sect's support for this battlefield, besides resisting demons, was primarily to instill confidence in the Dongwu Alliance.

Now, after several years of major battles here, the full potential of the Dongwu Alliance had been unleashed, and almost all cultivation families had secretly expressed their desire to pledge allegiance to the Five Elements Sect to Mo Douguang.

The only exception was the Sun family.

After all, it was a family that had produced Nascent Soul cultivators, so it still retained some integrity.

However, if all other families in Dongwu submitted after the war, the Sun family would certainly understand the prevailing trend.

“Let's wait for the main Barren Sea demon army to arrive,” Chen Mobai said. “After all, we need to provide a reason to the Holy Land in the future.”

At Chen Mobai's words, all the Five Elements Sect members present nodded.

After Du Mengyun was obliterated by the Demon-Slaying Divine Lightning, in a hidden third-tier spirit vein cave in Dongwu, Sun Huangling, who was in secluded meditation, suddenly had blood light swirling between her eyebrows. Her vital energy then erupted, reaching the peak of the Core Formation realm in a short period.

Sun Huangling then opened her eyes, her pupils now silver-white.

Soft breaths escaped her lips as Sun Huangling gently stroked her fair neck. After confirming that the wisp of sword energy that had prevented her from healing was gone, she slowly calmed down.

“One Yuan Daozi!” Sun Huangling gritted her teeth and spoke.

Before her death, Du Mengyun had transferred her spiritual consciousness to this avatar using a secret art, achieving an alternative form of rebirth.

Fortunately, besides the Jade Mirror Demonic Sect's heritage, she had also obtained the most bizarre Avatar Demonic Sect heritage from a ruin somewhere in the Barren Sea. However, this method of avatar rebirth was her first time using it.

Theoretically, after performing the Avatar Rebirth technique, her cultivation from her true body should have been transferred as well.

However, this time, only a tiny fraction was brought over.

Du Mengyun quickly recalled the scene before her death: her Nascent Soul seemed to have been annihilated by the Demon-Slaying Divine Lightning.

Presumably because of this, all her cultivation had been dissolved.

In that case, even if she could form a Nascent Soul again in the future, she would fall behind her other great enemy, Wen Buyue.

Moreover, her death by Chen Mobai's hand occurred in front of thousands of demons, tens of thousands of Dongwu cultivators, and Five Elements Sect disciples. This news would quickly reach Wen Buyue's ears.

In the coming days, if she wished to survive, she would have to go into hiding, constantly moving from place to place.

Her rebirth through the Avatar Demonic Sect's method could deceive anyone, but not the Jade Mirror Demonic Sect.

Because her soul lamp was still intact.

Now, she only hoped she wouldn't be found by Wen Buyue and Diao Xianlan.

Without her Nascent Soul cultivation, she was now worthless. If Diao Xianlan found her, she would undoubtedly, and without hesitation, use her last bit of value by presenting her to Wen Buyue, to make Wen Buyue work harder.

Having grown up in the demonic path, she understood this very clearly.

As for seeking revenge on Chen Mobai, it was already the last thing on Du Mengyun's mind. She even felt that she might never have the opportunity or strength to do so in this lifetime.

“Knock, knock, knock!”

At that moment, a knock sounded on the door.

Du Mengyun immediately sensed who was outside the door. She used a secret art to re-conceal her cultivation to the mid-Core Formation realm. After her pupil color returned to normal, she waved her hand, lifting the restriction on the door.

“Senior Sister, people from the Five Elements Sect have found this vicinity. We need to move.”

Hong He entered from outside the door and spoke to Sun Huangling. After leaving Donghuang, Hong He had coincidentally become a disciple of Du Mengyun. After reaching Core Formation, he gained some trust, and Du Mengyun had him commanded by her avatar, Sun Huangling, stating that Sun Huangling was her direct disciple.

In this invasion of Dongwu by the Barren Sea demon-beasts, both of them were considered key figures.

Because they were very familiar with various parts of Dongwu, and Hong He even knew Donghuang well.

According to Du Mengyun's plan, after capturing Dongwu, they would directly march into Donghuang. At that time, regardless of whether Hong He genuinely joined the demonic path, he would be of great use.

“Junior Brother, I recall that before you joined Master's sect, you were a member of the Five Elements Sect, weren't you?” Du Mengyun, feigning Sun Huangling's identity, asked Hong He.

“That's correct. It's just that my cultivation of demonic arts was discovered, so I defected.”

Hong He did not hide this point. After all, even rogue cultivators and pillagers had a background. His identity was special. When he met Du Mengyun in Yunmeng Lake, he was already at the late Foundation Establishment stage, indicating he could only be from a major sect.

And here in Dongzhou, due to the Nine Heavens Demonic Extermination Sect, anyone who cultivated demonic arts was considered one of their own by the demonic path.

Moreover, after leaving the Five Elements Sect, Hong He had exerted his utmost effort to fulfill all instructions given by Du Mengyun, proving himself a capable subordinate.

If Du Mengyun had been at her peak, she naturally wouldn't have paid much attention to a mere Core Formation cultivator like Hong He.

But now, it was different.

After her death, she needed to hide herself and could not expose the relationship between Sun Huangling and Du Mengyun. Therefore, Hong He, who knew about this matter, became crucial.

Furthermore, among the people she could currently use, Hong He had the highest cultivation.

“Junior Brother, there's something you probably don't know. That One Yuan Daozi of the Five Elements Sect personally intervened. Even Master and the Little Demon Venerable together were no match for him; they have already fallen on the coast of Dongwu.” Sun Huangling thought for a moment, then spoke with a sorrowful expression.

“Ah! Is that true?!”

Upon hearing this news, Hong He couldn't help but experience intense emotional fluctuations. He clenched his fists tightly to suppress the urge to burst into laughter, feigning shock, his body almost buckling.

“I also don't want to believe it, but this news will spread quickly. When it does, the Barren Sea demons we lead will surely fall into chaos. Before the other demon kings from Ten Thousand Immortal Island arrive, we definitely won't be able to control them—” Du Mengyun spoke her thoughts, which essentially meant one thing: both of them should immediately leave Dongwu and find a hiding place before the news spread.

Once Du Mengyun had re-formed her Nascent Soul, they would then assess the situation of the war between righteous and demonic cultivators.

If the demonic path won and Wen Buyue was still alive, she would then flee overseas to another province.

If the righteous path won, she would continue to hide, watching for opportunities, ideally to kill Wen Buyue.

“Senior Sister makes sense, but where should we hide?” Hong He asked after listening. He didn't care about the situation in Dongwu and held no deep affection for the Five Elements Sect; his sense of belonging to the sect stemmed only from his gratitude for Chen Mobai's great kindness.

For him, being able to stay out of this now was also the best choice.

“Once the news of the Little Demon Venerable's death spreads, the demon kings of Ten Thousand Immortal Island will certainly take action, and Dongwu will undoubtedly become the most brutal battlefield. Although we are very familiar with this place, it's better to leave to avoid any unexpected situations.”

“Donghuang is the Five Elements Sect's base, so we certainly can't walk into a trap.”

“Then there are the Barren Sea and the Barren Ruins. While Master has some foundation and influence in the Barren Sea, we two must distance ourselves, so we definitely can't go to demonic territory. But if we go to the Myriad Star Alliance, our cultivation of demonic arts might be exposed, bringing deadly peril.”

“So, after much thought, only the Barren Ruins remain. Moreover, the nearby Barren Ruins have already been traversed by Barren Sea demons due to the war, so I plan to infiltrate deeper into the Barren Ruins.”

Du Mengyun stated her intentions, but these words were merely to mislead Hong He. The reason cultivators didn't dare go deep into the Barren Ruins was that it was too dangerous.

Virtually every territory had fourth-tier demon beasts, and it was rumored that ancient beasts from antiquity, whose strength was no less than that of God Transformation true spirits, still slumbered there.

Du Mengyun actually planned to go to Donghuang.

As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is the safest.

Sun Huangling's avatar did not primarily cultivate demonic arts. She had originally intended, if her true body couldn't achieve God Transformation, to use this avatar to test the path of integrating righteous and demonic cultivation.

Now, with all of Dongzhou embroiled in war, the safest place, besides Dongtu, was Donghuang.

Long ago, Du Mengyun had used the Sun family's influence to purchase properties in various immortal cities throughout Donghuang, allowing her legitimate entry and residence for refuge. However, she certainly couldn't tell Hong He about this, as she would still need his help while recovering her cultivation in Donghuang.

“Senior Sister, let's leave now!” Hong He said after listening, feeling something was slightly off, but still went along with Du Mengyun's words.

“Alright!” Du Mengyun, however, nodded directly and affirmed.

Hong He immediately thought he was overthinking things. The two, carrying their storage bags, told a demon and a demonic cultivator guarding this spirit vein that they were going to investigate a second hiding spot, and then directly departed.

After leaving, Du Mengyun deliberately created some disturbance, exposing the location to the Five Elements Sect members who were searching nearby.

Soon, Yin Qingmei and Liu Wenbai led the Five Elements Sect army to the location, thoroughly slaying the hundreds of demons hidden within the spirit vein.

During this time, Du Mengyun and Hong He had already bypassed the Five Elements Sect's defensive line and flown into the Barren Ruins.

“Junior Brother, this ‘Sea Swallowing Demonic Art’ was given to me by Master. It can be cultivated up to the Nascent Soul realm. I'll give you the content up to the Core Formation perfection first.” After entering the Barren Ruins, Du Mengyun suddenly took out a black jade slip and handed it to Hong He.

“Thank you, Senior Sister. But since Master is no longer here, why don't you give me the complete cultivation art?” Although Hong He knew that major sects in Dongzhou typically transmitted cultivation arts this way, he couldn't help but ask.

“Junior Brother, we part ways here. Every ten years from now on, I will contact you, likely with some tasks I'll need your help with. However, I promise you, if you can cultivate to the Core Formation Perfection realm and the tasks you complete satisfy me, I will certainly transmit the complete 'Sea Swallowing Demonic Art' to you.” Du Mengyun spoke with a smile, replicating exactly what Diao Xianlan had done to her, now upon Hong He.

Using cultivation arts to control disciples and subordinates was already considered a relatively gentle method within the demonic path.

More common were master-servant bonds, blood pacts, poisons, restrictions, and so on!

However, major demonic sects had some understanding of causal lines and such, so they mostly relied on cultivation arts.

“Yes, Senior Sister!”

Hong He estimated the power difference between himself and Sun Huangling, and could only nod helplessly, accepting the jade slip.

The two separated within the Barren Ruins, each seeking a hidden location.

Among those of the demonic path, even husband-and-wife cultivators wouldn't trust each other, much less live together for long periods.

Hong He flew through the Barren Ruins for a while, then immediately stopped.

As a native of the region, he was most aware of the horrors deep within the Barren Ruins. Naturally, he wouldn't assume that he, a mere Core Formation cultivator, could hide under the noses of those powerful demon beasts.

Some demon beasts had extremely keen senses of smell; the human scent and bloody aura on him could not be concealed at all.

After pondering for a while in mid-air, Hong He decided it would be better to hide in his most familiar place, Yunmeng Lake.

Furthermore, he had already, more than a decade ago, purchased a residence in Fengyu Immortal City through a 'clean' identity.

Three days later, at the entrance of Fengyu Immortal City.

Du Mengyun and Hong He, both waiting in line at the entry hall, exchanged glances, then awkwardly nodded at each other.

“In the Barren Ruins, some daily necessities are lacking,” Du Mengyun began, offering a reason. “I came here to buy some Bigu Pills for long-term seclusion.”

“The same here. Me too,” Hong He replied, nodding repeatedly.